Correo

Today we celebrated our first year in Costa Rica. While we're getting use to things taking longer than expected (the biggest adaptation thus far), there are some things that still baffle us. For example...

I went to pick up a package today at the post office. Home delivery rarely happens and is challenging when your address literally translates to this: "San Francisco de Dos Rios, From the pharmacy La Pacifica, 400m east, 10m south. The garage is grey". That's great except the pharmacy is now a bread store and has been for 8 months. Somehow telling a taxi driver this always gets me home.

Anyways, this is the process for getting our package once at the post office:

• sign with passport at the guard shack with written proof of receiving a package
• receive a lanyard badge
• go to the back of the post office
• go to counter 1
• give letter telling you have a package
• show passport
• receive a stamp on letter with your signature and passport number
• go to counter 2
• show stamped letter
• acknowledge what is in the package
• again, stamp, passport number, and signature
• (the person has retrieved your package, but you cannot touch it)
• go to counter 3
• give stamped letter
• pay a handling fee and/or customs (it was about $3)
• receive a receipt that is stamped
• go to counter 4
• show receipt
• wait to retrieve your package (it got moved from counter 2 to 4)
• show receipt again to receive package
• check in again at guard shack to confirm that it is your package
• return badge

Some days you really question your effectiveness with how little you can accomplish each day. Then you realize it's just life here. Pura Vida!